Every Day Carry

When away from home one should always keep their

weapons close at hand. You can never know what troubles

you might encounter on the open road

~Havamal Stanza 38

Introduction

Let’s do something different for the first blog post of October: a look at a modern habit through the lens of our ancestors and the Havamal, the Every Day Carry (EDC). You can find hundreds of articles online discussing everything from tactical to gentlemanly EDC. Each philosophy caters to its own set of needs and what the writer thinks is most important for what one should have on them at all times. I’ll be writing about three different EDCs: my personal one, SCA events, and what I believe might have been the likely EDC of a Norse traveller in period.

Before I get into the actual nitty gritty of what each of these sets of items are, I would like to touch a little on why this is so important to me. You guys have seen me discuss the Nine Noble Virtues in the past (https://ulfhedinnjourney.blogspot.com/2013/11/nine-noble-virtues.html); one of the most important to me is Self Reliance (https://ulfhedinnjourney.blogspot.com/2016/02/nine-noble-virtues-self-reliance.html). Without it, the rest become much more difficult: if you’re constantly asking for help or searching for the right tool, it is difficult to be industrious. If you lack the confidence that being prepared brings you, it can be difficult to be courageous. I very much feel like preparation and self reliance are a good place to start on any journey.

My EDC

I split what I carry on a day-to-day basis into two groups: what I have on my person and what I carry in my truck. The first are portable items that I might need on a moment’s notice, and the second are things that would be good to have without having to go to the store. Between the two, I’m prepared for a wide variety of emergencies and situations. This split reminds of Role Playing game character sheets, where you specify what's on your horse and what your character actually has on them.

On Me

• Pocket Knife- I carry a largeish pocket knife on me. This multi-function knife can be used for

  

  Many of my EDC items were gifts from my wife
  the Credit Card Knife was no exception

  opening boxes, cutting tape or rope, and more. I find myself using it several times a week, and have a hard time understanding how people get by without one. I am so much in favour of carrying a knife at all times that it is a common present from me.
• Wallet knife- In my wallet I carry a credit card knife. This is just in case something happens to my pocket knife, or someone needs a knife while I am using mine. 
• Pocket Ninja- This thing seems gimmicky as hell: it's essentially a credit-card-sized multi-tool. It's got a can opener, a saw, screwdriver, wrench, and a few more gadgets. I have actually gotten a fair bit of use out of this. Obviously having a real screwdriver is better, but this works great in a pinch.
• Hair ties- I have long hair, so I carry two hair ties on my key carabiner.
• Bandana- I keep one in my back pocket, as it works great to keep the sweat out of your eyes, or as a rag in a pinch.

Truck

• Hatchet- I’ve had one in the truck for years now, and it has actually gotten used more than I really thought it would. It has been used to help clear brush at camping events, and to clear fallen tree limbs after a hurricane. 
• First Aid Kit- I keep a small first aid kit in the truck with basic supplies, which I’ve been lucky enough to never need. If there is an interest, I can do a post on survival supplies where I go more in depth into what I’ve put in the kit.
• Rope- I carry 50ft of rope in the truck at all times, with the full understanding that it will likely need to be cut and replaced when needed. 
• Cargo Net- I find this an ideal way to strap down large loads of cargo, better than fussing with a dozen tie-downs.
• Tie Downs- Of course, the above doesn't mean I don't carry tie downs. Some ratcheting and some bungee cords are always good to have on hand.
• Basic Tool Box- A couple of screwdrivers, a hammer, a pair of pliers, box cutter, and a small saw.
• Auto care necessities- Jumper Cables, Spare Tire, Cross Tire Iron, Jack, etc

With these items on me and my truck, I can handle a wide variety of emergencies. I don't expect myself to need the stuff in the truck often, but when I do, it has made all the difference in the world to have them available, and it has definitely saved a ton of time and made things easier on me. The carrying and maintenance of the kits is a small investment for the benefits they provide: I gathered my supplies and stored them, and feel ready for anything within the normal scope.

SCA 

In the SCA, you spend a ton of time wandering around and on the move. I won’t be going into our camping supplies here; instead, keep an eye out for a future post on what I bring to events. This will just be what I carry on my person during an SCA event, with the idea of being able to tackle a variety of issues that might arise while I am about.

• Small Knife- ALWAYS CARRY A KNIFE. Seriously, they don't take a ton of space. They
  
  were absurdly common in period, and there's always something (maybe even someone?) that needs to be cut. 
• Hair Ties- Still have long hair. Carry two. Murphy’s Law says one will break. 
• Wallet- This includes the pocket ninja and the wallet knife.

In the SCA, I am surrounded by people who are also prepared for a wide variety of emergencies. I also have my campsite close by, which is essentially a home away from home as far as supplies. This means that aside from the absolute basics, I don’t need to carry very much on my person to be ready for things.

A Traveller in Norse times

A person travelling during the Viking Age would’ve had to carry with them everything they needed to keep them going along the road. This would include weapons, camping supplies, food, clothing, and more. In previous blog posts, I have discussed the weapons and armour that were required to be considered a warrior in the later armies of the Nordic regions, I’ll leave that part out of this. Instead, I’ll discuss what we have found as grave goods, or seen discussed, that would count as your everyday travelling needs. As always, these are my theories based on what I have seen and read, and my basic understanding of what a person needs to camp.

To survive a distant journey, one would need to carry enough food, or be able to hunt or fish for your own food. We have evidence that shows that the Norse hunted using bows; in fact, that was the primary use for them at the time. It would also be a good idea to carry rope for setting snares when making camp for the night, as this would be a good passive way of getting more food.

On their person, a traveller might carry a small knife, and we have found many examples of utility

Extant Blades fromYork.

knives in grave goods (SEE? KNIFE!). We have also found firestarters and small grooming kits, which would make sense for people to carry. I’ve seen it discussed that the items that needed to stay dry would be carried in seal skin or some kind of treated fabric to ensure protection from the elements.

For camping, we know that the Norse liked to use A-frame tents. I have some difficulty seeing how that might be carried on a horse due to the large size of the ridge poles, but it would be quite easy to use the fabric from an A-frame to set up a lean-to, which would allow them to not carry so much bulky lumber.

Conclusion

EDC is not a new concept, even if the term as “trending” is pretty new. We have always had the idea, historically, that we need to have certain things with us at all times to be ready for whatever might come our way. Modernly, this has somewhat fallen by the wayside as the convenience of stores and cell phones makes us feel like any help we need is within easy reach. While this isn’t entirely wrong, it’s also very easy to find yourself in a situation where those modern conveniences no longer work. A dead zone of cell service with a car problem, or a power outage caused by a hurricane are situations that can happen even in “developed countries”. My family and I spent over a week without power in a recent hurricane, and after the hurricane passed, large portions of my EDC were put to use clearing roadways in our HOA. My pocket knife finds use several times a week: need to open a box? Got it. Need to mark lumber or cut rope? Done. Would it be life changing to have to go and find a tool to do these things? No, but it does slow me down. That limits my industriousness.

What’s your EDC? Is there something you never leave home without? Let me know in the comments below!